COVID-19 Customer Assistance Program

On March 16, 2020 Northshore Utility District (NUD) suspended late fees and water service terminations of delinquent accounts to assist customers during the COVID-19 Pandemic. On March 18, 2020 the Governor executed a similar order to preserve essential utility services. NUD’s suspension of late fees and service terminations shall extend until such time the Governor’s order is removed. Customers are obligated to pay for all past-due balances, including late fees existing prior to March 16 and after the Governor’s order is removed.

To provide payment assistance, the Governor has permitted payment plan arrangements to be offered by essential service providers. The District is pleased to offer payment arrangement options that assist customers with past-due balances. NUD strongly encourages customers to apply for a payment plan as soon as possible, while the program is currently available.

Customers engaged in a current DPPA shall not be subject to dispatch fees and service terminations throughout the payment plan period, provided they meet the terms and agreements of the plan. In addition to making timely payments toward their past-due balances according to the terms of the program below, customers must continue paying current charges on a bi-monthly basis and must not allow these charges to become past-due. Also, any late charges that accrue to the account will be credited if payments are made on time per the Deferred Payment Plan Arrangement.
 

The qualifying payment plan options are as follows:

Payment Option	*Past Due Balance Amount	Maximum Payment Terms (Months or Billing Periods)
A	$500 or less	4 Months or 2 Billing Periods
B	$501 to $1,000	8 Months or 4 Billing Periods
C	$1,001 to $1,500	12 Months or 6 Billing Periods
D	$1,501 to $2,000	16 Months or 8 Billing Periods
E	**Greater than $2,000	20 Months or 10 Billing Periods

* The Finance Director may authorize a payment term that extends to the next billing period as defined, provided the customer presents necessary information that supports the decision.

** The General Manager may authorize a payment term that extends beyond the established billing periods but no-longer than 30 months or 15 Billing Periods. The General Manager must report the decision process to the Board of Commissioners at the next available Board meeting following the decision.

To be approved for the DPPA, customers must attest that, due to COVID-19 related issues, they are unable to pay their current past-due balance.